U.S. patent application number 17/530870 was filed with the patent office on 2022-05-19 for epitaxial growth and transfer via patterned two-dimensional (2d) layers.
This patent application is currently assigned to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The applicant listed for this patent is Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Invention is credited to Sanghoon Bae, Jeehwan Kim, Yunjo Kim.
Application Number | 20220157661 17/530870 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | |
Filed Date | 2022-05-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220157661 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kim; Jeehwan ; et
al. |
May 19, 2022 |
EPITAXIAL GROWTH AND TRANSFER VIA PATTERNED TWO-DIMENSIONAL (2D)
LAYERS
Abstract
Embodiments including apparatus, systems, and methods for
nanofabrication are provided. In one example, a method of
manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a
two-dimensional (2D) layer comprising a 2D material on a first
substrate and forming a plurality of holes in the 2D layer to
create a patterned 2D layer. The method also includes forming a
single-crystalline film on the patterned 2D layer and transferring
the single-crystalline film onto a second substrate.
Inventors: |
Kim; Jeehwan; (Cambridge,
MA) ; Bae; Sanghoon; (Cambridge, MA) ; Kim;
Yunjo; (Cambridge, MA) |
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Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Cambridge |
MA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Cambridge
MA
|
Appl. No.: |
17/530870 |
Filed: |
November 19, 2021 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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16763584 |
May 13, 2020 |
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PCT/US2018/060945 |
Nov 14, 2018 |
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17530870 |
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62585954 |
Nov 14, 2017 |
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International
Class: |
H01L 21/78 20060101
H01L021/78; C30B 25/04 20060101 C30B025/04; C30B 25/18 20060101
C30B025/18; C30B 29/02 20060101 C30B029/02; H01L 21/02 20060101
H01L021/02 |
Claims
1. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method
comprising: growing a two-dimensional (2D) layer comprising a 2D
material on a first substrate; forming a plurality of holes in the
2D layer to create a patterned 2D layer; forming a
single-crystalline film on the patterned 2D layer; and transferring
the single-crystalline film onto a second substrate.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the 2D material comprises
graphene.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises
silicon.
4. (canceled)
5. The method of claim 1, wherein forming the plurality of holes
comprises: forming a metal mask on the 2D layer, the metal mask
comprising a plurality of metal islands disposed on the 2D layer;
etching the 2D layer to form the plurality of holes; and removing
the metal mask from the 2D layer.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein etching the 2D layer comprises
etching the 2D layer using an inert gas plasma.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: growing the first
substrate on a parent substrate via epitaxial growth.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the parent substrate comprises
GaN and the first substrate comprises InGaN.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the parent substrate comprises
GaAs and the first substrate comprises InGaP.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein the parent substrate comprises
InP and the first substrate comprises InGaAs.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the 2D material comprises
MoS.sub.2.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the 2D material comprises
WSe.sub.2.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the 2D material comprises Boron
Nitride.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises
germanium.
15. The method of claim 5, wherein etching the 2D layer comprises
etching the 2D layer using an oxygen plasma.
16. The method of claim 1, further comprising: growing the first
substrate on a parent substrate via pseudomorphic growth.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein the single-crystalline film is
epitaxially matched to the first substrate.
18. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method
comprising: forming a plurality of holes in a two-dimensional (2D)
layer disposed on a first substrate to create a patterned 2D layer;
forming a single-crystalline film on the patterned 2D layer; and
separating the single-crystalline film and the first substrate.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the single-crystalline film is
epitaxially matched to the first substrate.
20. The method of claim 18, wherein the single-crystalline film and
the substrate are made of the same material.
21. The method of claim 18, further comprising, after separating
the single-crystalline film and the first substrate, forming a
second single-crystalline film over the substrate.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 16/763,584, filed May 13, 2020, and entitled
"EPITAXIAL GROWTH AND TRANSFER VIA PATTERNED TWO-DIMENSIONAL (2D)
LAYERS," which is a national stage filing under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.
371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2018/060945,
filed Nov. 14, 2018, and entitled "EPITAXIAL GROWTH AND TRANSFER
VIA PATTERNED TWO-DIMENSIONAL (2D) LAYERS," which claims priority
under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No.
62/585,954, filed Nov. 14, 2017, and entitled "EPITAXIAL GROWTH AND
TRANSFER VIA PATTERNED TWO-DIMENSIONAL (2D) LAYERS," each of which
is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all
purposes.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] Epitaxial growth and transfer via two-dimensional (2D)
layers is generally described.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Elemental semiconductors and compound semiconductors are the
basis of modern electronics. The semiconductor industry spent about
$7.2 billion worldwide on wafers that serve as substrates for
microelectronic components. The functionality of semiconductor
devices typically lies on the surface of a semiconductor.
Therefore, the bulk of the wafer usually does not offer additional
benefits for the electronic device. However, it is challenging for
conventional semiconductor growth processes, which usually utilize
ingot growth, to grow thinner semiconductor wafers due to the
mechanical fragility of the material. As a result, semiconductor
devices are usually accompanied by a thick wafer body during
fabrication.
[0004] In addition, in the current semiconductor industry, the
wafer is strongly bonded to the semiconductor device with covalent
bonding, which makes it challenging to separate the device layer
from the wafer without damaging either the device or wafer or both.
Therefore, the entire wafer is usually sacrificed during
fabrication, thereby increasing the overall cost of the
electronics. While germanium or other compound semiconductors are
intensively investigated for various electronics, such as
light-emitting diodes (LEDs), lasers, photovoltaic cells, and
sensors, their commercial applications are limited to specific
fields mainly due to the prohibitive cost of the germanium or
compound wafer substrate.
[0005] To circumvent this challenge, various methods have been
developed over the past decade for wafer recycling, such as
chemical lift-off, optical lift-off, and laser lift-off. However,
even after a decade of development, the aforementioned methods have
not been successful in securing adoption for mass production due to
their slow release rate of the active layers, low yield, and the
need for post-release treatment of the host substrate.
SUMMARY
[0006] Embodiments of the present invention include apparatus,
systems, and methods for nanofabrication. In one example, a method
of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a
two-dimensional (2D) layer comprising a 2D material on a first
substrate and forming a plurality of holes in the 2D layer to
create a patterned 2D layer. The method also includes forming a
single-crystalline film on the patterned 2D layer and transferring
the single-crystalline film onto a second substrate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The skilled artisan will understand that the drawings
primarily are for illustrative purposes and are not intended to
limit the scope of the inventive subject matter described herein.
The drawings are not necessarily to scale; in some instances,
various aspects of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein
may be shown exaggerated or enlarged in the drawings to facilitate
an understanding of different features. In the drawings, like
reference characters generally refer to like features (e.g.,
functionally similar and/or structurally similar elements).
[0008] FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate a method of fabricating a
semiconductor device using a patterned two-dimensional (2D)
layer.
[0009] FIGS. 2A-2H illustrate graphene-based layer fabrication and
transfer using graphene patterned with holes.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate a method 100 of fabricating a
semiconductor device using a patterned two-dimensional (2D) layer.
In the method 100, a 2D layer 120 is formed on a first substrate
110, as shown in FIG. 1A. In some cases, the first substrate 110
can be prepared by epitaxial growth or pseudomorphic growth on a
crystalline substrate (also referred to as a parent substrate). For
example, the first substrate 110 can include InGaN grown on GaN. In
another example, the first substrate can include InGaP grown on
GaAs. In yet another example, the first substrate 110 can include
InGaAs grown on InP. In some cases, the first substrate 110 can
include silicon, silicon carbide (SiC), germanium, SrTiO.sub.3
(STO), and/or lithium fluoride (LiF), prepared by any appropriate
method.
[0011] The 2D layer 120 can include any type of 2D material. For
example, the 2D layer 120 can include graphene (single crystalline
or polycrystalline). In another example, the 2D layer 120 can
include a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayer, which is
an atomically thin semiconductor of the type MX.sub.2, where M is a
transition metal atom (e.g., Mo, W, etc.) and X is a chalcogen atom
(e.g., S, Se, or Te). For example, the 2D layer 120 can include
MoS.sub.2 and WSe.sub.2, among other materials. In yet another
example, the 2D layer 120 can include 2D boron nitride (BN). In
some embodiments, the 2D material can be arranged as a plurality of
atomic layers (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or more atomic layers). For
example, in some embodiments, a plurality of graphene layers (e.g.,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or more graphene layers thick) can be used. In
some embodiments, the 2D material is an atomically thin
material.
[0012] In one example, the 2D layer 120 can be directly grown on
the first substrate 110. For example, in some embodiments, graphene
can be directly grown on the first substrate 110. In another
example, the 2D layer 120 can be grown on another substrate (not
shown) and then transferred to the first substrate 110. More
details of this layer transfer can be found in PCT Application No.
PCT/US2016/050701, filed Sep. 8, 2016, and published as
International Patent Application Publication Number WO 2017/044577
on Mar. 16, 2017, entitled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR GRAPHENE BASED
LAYER TRANSFER," which is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
[0013] In FIG. 1B, the 2D layer 120 is patterned with a plurality
of holes to form a patterned 2D layer 130. In one example, the
pattern on the patterned 2D layer 130 can be periodic. In another
example, the pattern on the patterned 2D layer 130 can be random
(or arbitrary). In some embodiments, at least 50% of a surface of
the first substrate 110 on which the patterned 2D layer 130 is
located is covered by the 2D material, with the remainder uncovered
(e.g., due to holes or other discontinuities in the patterned 2D
layer 130). The holes in the pattered 2D layer 130 can be on the
nano-scale. For example, the diameter of the holes can be less than
1 .mu.m (e.g., about 1 .mu.m, about 500 nm, about 300 nm, about 200
nm, about 100 nm, about 50 nm, or less, including any values and
sub ranges in between).
[0014] Various methods can be used to form the patterned 2D layer
130. In one example, a metal mask can be formed on the 2D layer
120. For example, metal deposition can be initiated on the 2D layer
120 to form metal islands and terminated before the metal islands
merge with each other, thereby creating a plurality of isolated
metal islands (or metal pillars) disposed on the 2D layer 120.
These metal islands, collectively, form the metal mask. Then plasma
etching can be employed to etch the area of the 2D layer 120 not
covered by the metal mask. As another example, metal deposition can
be initiated on the 2D layer 120 to form a metal mask comprising a
metal layer with holes in the metal mask disposed on the 2D layer
120. Then, plasma etching can be employed to etch the areas of the
2D layer 120 not covered by the metal mask (e.g., through the holes
in the metal mask). The plasma can include, for example, oxygen
plasma or inert gas plasma (e.g., He plasma or Ar plasma). After
the etching of the 2D layer 120, the metal mask can be etched away
(e.g., using wet chemical etching), exposing the pattered 2D layer
130 for further processing.
[0015] In another example, the patterned 2D layer 130 can be formed
using electron beam lithography. In yet another example, the
patterned 2D layer 130 can be formed using ion bombardment. In yet
another example, the patterned 2D layer 130 can be formed using a
noodle shaped metal mask.
[0016] FIG. 1C shows that an epitaxial layer 140 is grown on the
patterned 2D layer 130. In this process, an epitaxial seed can be
formed through the etched regions (holes) in the patterned 2D layer
130 and then grow laterally over the rest of the patterned 2D layer
130. The majority of bonding at the interface between the epitaxial
layer 140 and the first substrate 110 can be van der Waals
interaction. In some embodiments, an epitaxial material is grown on
the patterned 2D layer (e.g., patterned graphene) for a short
enough duration that portions (e.g., islands) of the epitaxial
material do not merge with one another and a patterned epitaxial
material (e.g., comprising islands) results (e.g., 240 of FIG. 2E).
The epitaxial layer 140 can include a single-crystalline material
that is substantially identical to the material of the first
substrate. The crystalline properties of the epitaxial layer 140
can be substantially the same as the crystalline properties of the
first substrate 110.
[0017] In FIG. 1D, the epitaxial layer 140 is removed and
transferred to a second substrate (not shown in FIGS. 1A-1C) for
further processing, leaving the patterned 2D layer 130 on the first
substrate 110 for fabricate another epitaxial layer. In this
manner, the first substrate 110 and the pattered 2D layer 130 can
be used multiple times (e.g., more than 100 times, more than 200
times, more than 300 times, more than 500 times, or more than 1000
times, including any values and sub ranges in between), thereby
reducing the average cost of each epitaxial layer 140.
[0018] The epitaxial layer 140 can be transferred away using
various methods. In one example, a stressor layer can be disposed
on the epitaxial layer 140 and a tape layer can be disposed on the
stressor layer. For example, the stressor can include a high-stress
metal film, such as a Ni film. Using the tape layer and the
stressor layer can mechanically exfoliate the epitaxial layer 140
from the 2D pattered layer 130 at a fast release rate by applying
high strain energy to the interface between the epitaxial layer 140
and the patterned 2D layer 130.
[0019] After the epitaxial layer 140 is disposed on the second
substrate, the tape layer and the stressor layer can be removed,
leaving the epitaxial layer 140 for further processing, such as
forming more sophisticated devices or depositing additional
materials on the epitaxial layer 140. For example, the tape layer
and the stressor layer can be etched away by a FeCl.sub.3-based
solution.
[0020] In some cases, the 2D layer 120 can include a combination of
multiple sub-layers stitched together. For example, the 2D layer
120 can include multiple sub-layers tiled on the first substrate
110 with adjacent sub-layers are at least partially overlapping so
as to substantially cover the entire surface of the first substrate
110.
[0021] FIGS. 2A-2H illustrate a method 200 of graphene-based layer
fabrication and transfer using graphene patterned with holes
(referred to as porous graphene hereafter). The method 200 can be
implemented with the graphene functioning as a release layer and
the substrate seeding the epitaxial growth of one or more
functional layers.
[0022] In FIG. 2A, a graphene layer 220 is disposed on a substrate
210. The graphene layer 220 can be grown on the substrate 210 via,
for example, chemical vapor deposition. Alternatively, the graphene
layer 220 can be transferred to the substrate 210. A porous film
230 (e.g., oxide, nitride, or photoresist film) is then disposed on
the graphene layer 220 as shown in FIG. 2B. The porous film 230 has
a high density of pinholes (e.g., about one hole per square
micron). Alternatively, the porous film 230 can include any film
with holes to allow subsequent processing shown in FIGS. 2C-2H.
[0023] In FIG. 2C, dry etching using Ar plasma or 02 plasma is
carried out to open up the pinholes in the porous film 230. This
etching creates a plurality of pinholes 235 in the porous film 230,
allowing the ions in the etching plasma to propagate through the
porous film 230 to the graphene layer 220. The etching plasma then
etches the portion of the graphene layer 220 directly underneath
the pinholes 235 in the porous film 230. Ions in the etching plasma
can damage the graphene layer 220 by creating a plurality of holes
225 in the graphene layer 220, which now becomes a porous graphene
layer 220. In one example, the etching of the porous film 230 and
the etching of the graphene layer 220 can be achieved with the same
etching plasma. In another example, the etching of the porous film
230 and the etching of the graphene layer 220 can be achieved with
different etching plasmas.
[0024] In FIG. 2E, the porous film 230 is removed, leaving the
now-porous graphene layer 220 exposed for further processing. In
one example, the porous film 230 includes photoresist material and
can be removed by acetone. In another example, the porous film 230
includes oxide or nitride and can be removed by hydrogen fluoride
(HF). FIG. 2E also shows that an epilayer 240 is grown on the
porous graphene layer 220. The growth starts from the area where
the holes 225 were created. The holes 225 allow direct interaction
of the substrate 210 with the epilayer 240, thereby allowing the
substrate 210 to guide the crystalline orientation of the epilayer
240. The growth of the epilayer 240 then extends to cover the
entire graphene layer 220, forming a planar epilayer 240 (e.g.,
FIG. 2F). In some embodiments, an epitaxial material is grown on
the patterned graphene for a short enough duration that portions
(e.g., islands) of the epitaxial material do not merge with one
another and a patterned epitaxial material 240 (e.g., comprising
islands) results (e.g., 240 of FIG. 2E). Further growth of the
epitaxial material 240 can then extend to cover the entire graphene
layer 220, forming a planar epitaxial layer (also referred to
herein as an epilayer) 240 (e.g., FIG. 2F).
[0025] In FIG. 2G, the formed epilayer 240 is released from the
graphene layer 220 and the substrate 210. The released epilayer 240
is transferred to a target substrate 250, as shown in FIG. 2H, for
further processing, such as forming a functional device. The
graphene layer 220 and the substrate 210, after the release of the
epilayer 240 shown in FIG. 2G, is then reused to fabricate another
epilayer, and the cycle can be repeated multiple times.
[0026] The method 200 uses graphene for layer transfer for
illustrative purposes. In practice, the graphene layer 220 can be
replaced by any other 2D layer described herein.
[0027] U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/585,954, filed Nov. 14,
2017 and entitled "EPITAXIAL GROWTH AND TRANSFER VIA PATTERNED
TWO-DIMENSIONAL (2D) LAYERS," is incorporated herein by reference
in its entirety for all purposes.
CONCLUSION
[0028] While various inventive embodiments have been described and
illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily
envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing
the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the
advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or
modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive
embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the
art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions,
materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be
exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials,
and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or
applications for which the inventive teachings is/are used. Those
skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no
more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific
inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be
understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of
example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and
equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced
otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive
embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each
individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method
described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such
features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if
such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods
are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive
scope of the present disclosure.
[0029] The above-described embodiments can be implemented in any of
numerous ways. For example, embodiments of designing and making the
technology disclosed herein may be implemented using hardware,
software or a combination thereof. When implemented in software,
the software code can be executed on any suitable processor or
collection of processors, whether provided in a single computer or
distributed among multiple computers.
[0030] Further, it should be appreciated that a computer may be
embodied in any of a number of forms, such as a rack-mounted
computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or a tablet
computer. Additionally, a computer may be embedded in a device not
generally regarded as a computer but with suitable processing
capabilities, including a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a smart
phone or any other suitable portable or fixed electronic
device.
[0031] Also, a computer may have one or more input and output
devices. These devices can be used, among other things, to present
a user interface. Examples of output devices that can be used to
provide a user interface include printers or display screens for
visual presentation of output and speakers or other sound
generating devices for audible presentation of output. Examples of
input devices that can be used for a user interface include
keyboards, and pointing devices, such as mice, touch pads, and
digitizing tablets. As another example, a computer may receive
input information through speech recognition or in other audible
format.
[0032] Such computers may be interconnected by one or more networks
in any suitable form, including a local area network or a wide area
network, such as an enterprise network, and intelligent network
(IN) or the Internet. Such networks may be based on any suitable
technology and may operate according to any suitable protocol and
may include wireless networks, wired networks or fiber optic
networks.
[0033] The various methods or processes (outlined herein may be
coded as software that is executable on one or more processors that
employ any one of a variety of operating systems or platforms.
Additionally, such software may be written using any of a number of
suitable programming languages and/or programming or scripting
tools, and also may be compiled as executable machine language code
or intermediate code that is executed on a framework or virtual
machine.
[0034] In this respect, various inventive concepts may be embodied
as a computer readable storage medium (or multiple computer
readable storage media) (e.g., a computer memory, one or more
floppy discs, compact discs, optical discs, magnetic tapes, flash
memories, circuit configurations in Field Programmable Gate Arrays
or other semiconductor devices, or other non-transitory medium or
tangible computer storage medium) encoded with one or more programs
that, when executed on one or more computers or other processors,
perform methods that implement the various embodiments of the
invention discussed above. The computer readable medium or media
can be transportable, such that the program or programs stored
thereon can be loaded onto one or more different computers or other
processors to implement various aspects of the present invention as
discussed above.
[0035] The terms "program" or "software" are used herein in a
generic sense to refer to any type of computer code or set of
computer-executable instructions that can be employed to program a
computer or other processor to implement various aspects of
embodiments as discussed above. Additionally, it should be
appreciated that according to one aspect, one or more computer
programs that when executed perform methods of the present
invention need not reside on a single computer or processor, but
may be distributed in a modular fashion amongst a number of
different computers or processors to implement various aspects of
the present invention.
[0036] Computer-executable instructions may be in many forms, such
as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other
devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,
objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular
tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically the
functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed
as desired in various embodiments.
[0037] Also, data structures may be stored in computer-readable
media in any suitable form. For simplicity of illustration, data
structures may be shown to have fields that are related through
location in the data structure. Such relationships may likewise be
achieved by assigning storage for the fields with locations in a
computer-readable medium that convey relationship between the
fields. However, any suitable mechanism may be used to establish a
relationship between information in fields of a data structure,
including through the use of pointers, tags or other mechanisms
that establish relationship between data elements.
[0038] Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or
more methods, of which an example has been provided. The acts
performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way.
Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are
performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include
performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as
sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.
[0039] All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be
understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in
documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of
the defined terms.
[0040] The indefinite articles "a" and "an," as used herein in the
specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the
contrary, should be understood to mean "at least one."
[0041] The phrase "and/or," as used herein in the specification and
in the claims, should be understood to mean "either or both" of the
elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively
present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases.
Multiple elements listed with "and/or" should be construed in the
same fashion, i.e., "one or more" of the elements so conjoined.
Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements
specifically identified by the "and/or" clause, whether related or
unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a
non-limiting example, a reference to "A and/or B", when used in
conjunction with open-ended language such as "comprising" can
refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements
other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally
including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to
both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.
[0042] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, "or"
should be understood to have the same meaning as "and/or" as
defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, "or"
or "and/or" shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the
inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a
number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted
items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as "only
one of" or "exactly one of," or, when used in the claims,
"consisting of," will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element
of a number or list of elements. In general, the term "or" as used
herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive
alternatives (i.e., "one or the other but not both") when preceded
by terms of exclusivity, such as "either," "one of," "only one of,"
or "exactly one of." "Consisting essentially of," when used in the
claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of
patent law.
[0043] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the
phrase "at least one," in reference to a list of one or more
elements, should be understood to mean at least one element
selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of
elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and
every element specifically listed within the list of elements and
not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements.
This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present
other than the elements specifically identified within the list of
elements to which the phrase "at least one" refers, whether related
or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a
non-limiting example, "at least one of A and B" (or, equivalently,
"at least one of A or B," or, equivalently "at least one of A
and/or B") can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one,
optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and
optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment,
to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A
present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet
another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than
one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B
(and optionally including other elements); etc.
[0044] In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all
transitional phrases such as "comprising," "including," "carrying,"
"having," "containing," "involving," "holding," "composed of," and
the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean
including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases
"consisting of" and "consisting essentially of" shall be closed or
semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the
United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures,
Section 2111.03.
* * * * *